Last summer in the southern hemisphere, a fishing vessel in the Antarctic Ocean pulled up a rare creature — a 770-pound colossal squid. Only one other such animal had been pulled up intact before, surprisingly, by the same vessel. It is thought that the giant marine beast might be the origin of legends of undersea monsters. Scientists in New Zealand froze it to preserve it and just defrosted and dissected it.

Scientists say a massive ice sheet in Antarctica is starting to collapse. It's not going to slide into the ocean over night, but rather over centuries. Still, it will fall, scientists say. It's gotten to the point it can't be stopped — and that means rising sea levels.

Those on the Spirit of Mawson Antarctic expedition were relieved and jubilant when they were rescued last week after being stranded on a ship caught in Antarctic pack ice. But some polar scientists were not as jubilant. They question the trip as more a lark than a serious expedition — which diverted several icebreakers from serious scientific work.

The investigation continues into the terrorist attacks in Russia earlier this week. While there's been no claim of responsibility, officials are already worrying about what it means for the Olympics. Security is expected to be unprecedented. Plus Jihad Jane looks set for a long prison sentence and Edward Snowden pushes Julian Assange out of the spotlight in today's Global Scan.

Public smoking is widespread in China, despite its official prohibition. So Chinese officials are turning up the pressure, telling Communist Party officials to stop — or else. Meanwhile, in France, a new law requires mobile-based ride hailing services like Uber to wait 15 minutes before picking up passengers. And this weekend's terrorists attacks in Russia are a problem.

Scientists say a massive ice sheet in Antarctica is starting to collapse. It's not going to slide into the ocean over night, but rather over centuries. Still, it will fall, scientists say. It's gotten to the point it can't be stopped — and that means rising sea levels.

Those on the Spirit of Mawson Antarctic expedition were relieved and jubilant when they were rescued last week after being stranded on a ship caught in Antarctic pack ice. But some polar scientists were not as jubilant. They question the trip as more a lark than a serious expedition — which diverted several icebreakers from serious scientific work.

Collembola are everywhere, on a limestone hill in Vietnam, on the snow-capped peaks of the Pyrenees mountains and everywhere in between. But these critters, evolutionarily distinct, are disappearing as climates change. The long-term consequences of their disappearance, though, is hard to estimate.

Thanks to a new study from the Potsdam Institute in Germany, it's possible to measure how global warming will raise sea levels. The report predicted for every degree Celsius of global warming, sea levels are expected to rise seven feet.

Public smoking is widespread in China, despite its official prohibition. So Chinese officials are turning up the pressure, telling Communist Party officials to stop — or else. Meanwhile, in France, a new law requires mobile-based ride hailing services like Uber to wait 15 minutes before picking up passengers. And this weekend's terrorists attacks in Russia are a problem.